Chapter 78

These blacksmiths basically stayed here during this period. The number of tractors did not increase, but when Yang Yuanzhao conducted many experiments, these people came in handy. Most industrial machines are made of iron, and they needed these strong men.

As long as the power problem of the integrated flour mill was solved, the rest was very simple. It was all about transmission and gears. With the experience of assembling tractors, these people completed the installation in just two days.

The flour mill seemed to be taking shape, occupying about a quarter of the yard. Yang Yuanzhao carefully inspected the machine, finding no issues. The connections were very safe, and he added some lubricating oil. Yang Yuanzhao said, "Start the steam engine!"

A blacksmith hurriedly ran out, ignited the steam engine, and the rumbling sound came. The transmission shaft began to rotate regularly, gradually increasing in speed. It took about half an hour to stabilize. Seeing the steam engine stabilize, Yang Yuanzhao stepped forward and connected the transmission shaft to the graphite.

The powerful force from the steam engine was transmitted through the shaft to the stone mills, and about ten stone mills started to rotate slowly.

Walking around each stone mill, Yang Yuanzhao examined the connections between the mills in detail, finding no problems. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Liu Xing, go to the drying field and bring a few bags of new wheat."

Liu Xing and three or four blacksmiths immediately followed the order. It took these strong men only about ten minutes to bring ten bags of wheat. Yang Yuanzhao checked the wheat briefly; it was thoroughly dried and ready for flour production.

The Wu family's steward also walked in. The drying field Liu Xing went to belonged to the Wu family. Hearing the purpose of the wheat, he followed along. Seeing the massive machine made of steel, he was slightly taken aback!

"Get a few people to help!" Yang Yuanzhao ignored the steward and instructed. Before anyone could come, someone called from outside, "Yuanzhao, I heard the flour mill is done?"

Two people walked in; it was Yang Yue and Liu Shu. They were near the drying field and heard that wheat was needed here. Yang Yue immediately thought that Yang Yuanzhao had completed the flour mill and suggested coming over. Liu Shu was also very interested in the flour mill, so they came together.

After Yang Yue arrived, he walked around the machine and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Yuanzhao, is this human-powered? Without a machine to drive it, the flour produced would be no different from that made by ordinary stone mills, right?"

"Brother Ji, I studied mechanics. If I said it was human-powered, wouldn't that ruin my reputation? The power source is not with the flour because flour is flammable. The power source is in another room!" Yang Yuanzhao explained. Originally, he planned to combine the two, but last night, he suddenly remembered that modern flour mills strictly prohibit fire. Flour dust in the air can easily reach the explosive limit, and if it encounters an open flame, it's not just a fire but a massive explosion. For safety, the steam engine was placed in another room, connected by a transmission shaft. Additionally, the separation of the machine body was crucial. In this era, steam engines generally worked around the clock to ensure stable power, avoiding speed fluctuations due to fire and fuel issues. However, Yang Yuanzhao believed that continuous operation of steam engines could easily lead to fatigue and problems. Unlike modern internal combustion engines, a steam leak could be very dangerous, requiring regular shutdowns for maintenance. Therefore, two steam engines alternated, and the transmission shafts were interconnected, solving the problem. He used a clever design to flexibly connect and disconnect the power.

Hearing it was steam-powered, Yang Yue said no more, as it was clear that the machine was running without anyone operating it, connected to an external transmission shaft.

A few blacksmiths came up and, under Yang Yuanzhao's guidance, poured the ten bags of wheat into the feed port.

The wheat flowed continuously into the conveyor belt and was evenly distributed to the ten stone mills. The mills rotated together, slowly moving and quickly turning the wheat into flour.

Fine flour trickled down, but Yang Yuanzhao disengaged the transmission shaft, stopping all the mills.

Although the operation was smooth and the speed was acceptable, some small issues still appeared. These issues caused some mills to apply uneven force, resulting in larger flour particles. These were minor problems, easy to solve. Yang Yuanzhao quickly took out his tools and adjusted the transmission and some screws. After a short while, the adjustments were complete, and the machine ran again.

This time, the mills' speed noticeably increased, and the previous noise almost disappeared. Apart from the sound of grinding flour, there was little noise in the room. Fine flour flowed slowly onto the conveyor belt and was then packed into prepared bags.

The flour was delicate and white, significantly different from ordinary flour. The whiteness was not just due to the quality of the wheat but also because a whitening agent was added during the collection of chemical supplies in Shanghai. Although whitening agents are chemicals and can be harmful to health if consumed regularly, in this era, most products used such agents. The concept of healthy flour had not yet taken root. Additionally, this particular whitening agent was more natural and had fewer harmful components, though it was slightly more expensive.

The first bag of flour was freshly produced. Yang Yuanzhao had referenced the packaging of foreign flour in Shanghai, removed the patterns, and used automated filling to complete the bagging and sealing without any manual labor.

When the first bag of flour was freshly produced, not only were all the blacksmiths stunned, but even the Wu family's steward, Liu Shu, and Yang Yue were speechless. Especially Liu Shu, who knew Yang Yuanzhao could solve the flour problem and make a flour machine, but did not expect it to be so powerful. Ten bags of wheat were all ground into flour, producing 20 bags in less than half an hour.

Yang Yue and others were at a loss for words, but the blacksmiths were focused on the flour itself. This was the finest and highest-quality foreign flour, and just one bag was worth a lot. The workers stared at the flour, amazed that this rare item was produced by the machine they assembled in less than 30 minutes. It was too simple.

The Wu family's steward walked over, looked at the unsealed flour, and pinched a little from the conveyor belt, feeling the flour with his fingers. It was exceptionally smooth. As the Wu family's steward, he knew this could be considered a top-grade product. The key was its pure whiteness. Even foreign flour would show a slight yellow tint, but this was pure white.

The outstanding result was due to Yang Yuanzhao's design, which excelled in the addition and mixing of materials. The flour and whitening agent were mixed very well.

The steward immediately ordered several tenants to bring in more wheat. Soon, dozens of people arrived with over a hundred bags of wheat. In a full day, the flour machine produced 243 bags of flour. This was even after Yang Yuanzhao refused to continue grinding in the afternoon. The results were overwhelmingly good.

Baotou was small, and with Yang Yuanzhao not keeping it a secret, everyone soon knew that he had completed the machine for making foreign flour. Almost everyone related to Yang Yuanzhao came, including Liu Shu, Wei Ming, Yang Yue, and of course, the two landlords who had been waiting to collaborate with Yang Yuanzhao to open a flour mill.

Yang Yue could see something, but the others were confused. They only saw the massive stone mills and various steel components. With the existence of tractors, no one doubted Yang Yuanzhao's mechanical expertise, especially the two landlords. The white flour the steward brought back yesterday had been used in the kitchen, and it was indistinguishable from foreign flour. Clearly, Yang Yuanzhao could really do it. As long as the machine worked as the steward described, this flour mill had great potential.